Headlight



B. E. MELTON July 14, 1931.-

HEADLIGHT Filed Aug. 2. 1929- INVENTOR .B..E. Me Zf'on ATTORNEYS Patented July 14, 1931 BURTON E. MELTON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS HEADLIGHT Application filed August 2, 1929. Serial No. 382,970.

My invention relates to.improvements in headlights, and it consists in the combinations, constructions, and arrangements herein described and claimed.

5 An object of my invention is to provide a headlight in which improvements over my Patent No. 1,662,322, issued March 13, 1928, are embodied.

A further object is to provide a headlight l in which novel reflecting means is provided and in which the reflecting means may be formed from a single piece of material.

A further object is to provide a headlight in which novel means is provided for adjustably mounting a source of light.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel features of the invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application, in which Figure 1 is a transverse sectional view of my device,

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 22 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 33 of Figure 2, and

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail viewof the 1 means for mounting the source of light.

In carrying out my invention, I make use of an outer casing 1 which is rectangular in cross section, as shown in Figure 1. The top portion 2 is tapered downwardly and rearwardly as at 3 and the side walls 4 are tapered inwardly and rearwardly as at '5. The rear end wall6 is preferably arranged in a plane parallelwith the front edge of the casing. The casing 1 is provided with a floor 7. The floor 7 is inclined slightly downwardly from the center of the floor toward the side walls 4. The floor 7 is hingedly mounted at 8, see

Figure 2, upon a plate 9. A locking member 7 10 is 'movably mounted upon the underneath 4 member 10 is provided with formations as are adapted for beingmoved, between spring members 14 and flange portions with which side of the floor 7 by means of a rivet 11. The

the spring members 14 are connected. The flange portions 15 are in turn connected with a reflector 16. The flanges 15 rest upon supporting members 17 which are secured to the outer casing 1 as shown in Figure 1. The spring members 14 may be welded or riveted to the flange 15. The spring members in the present instance are welded tothe flange 15 and positioned in such a manner that the flange portions 13 of the locking member 10, may be moved between the spring members 14 and the flange portions 15 for holding the floor 7 in its normal position. The members 17 may be secured to the casing by any suitable means, such as welding or riveting. The

locking member 10 may be rotated from the fullline position to the dotted line position shown in Figure 3, at which time the floor 7 may be dropped by reason of the hinge 8.

The rear end of the floor 7 is out at 18, 19, and 20 for permitting a secondary reflector 21 to be formed integrally with the floor. The secondary reflector is curved slightly as at 22 and is provided with a reflecting surface 23. The floor 7 is provided with a depressed portion 24 simulating a hemispherical contour. The hemispherical formation 24 is provided with a reflecting surface upon its inner walls. I V

In Figure 2 I'have shown an electric globe or bulb 25 as being substantially concentrically disposed within the depression 24. In Figure 4 I have shown the means for mounting the bulb. The body portion 26 is provided with threaded portions 27 and 28. The threaded portions are reduced, whereby a flange 29 is provided. The rear wall 6 is provided with an opening 30 within which the threadedpo-rt-ion 28 is disposed. A lock ing collar 31 is disposed upon the threaded portion 28 and is arranged to lock the body portion 26 firmly with respect to the casing 1. The body portion 26 is provided with an arcuate-shaped opening 32 within which a revolvable member 33 is disposed. The .revo'lvable member comprises a pair of portions 34. The revolva'ble member 33 -is provided with a central opening 35 through which a; tubular member 36 is disposed. An insulating member 37 is centrally disposed within the tubular member 36 and rigidly secured therein. Yielding contacts 38 and 39 are carried by the insulating portion 37. The ends of the tubular member 36 are provided with slots 40. One of the slots is arranged to receive a pin 41 carried by the base 42 of the lamp 25. The slot construction is old and well known in the art, and therefore needs no detailed description. A plug 43 is disposed within the opposite end of the tubular member 36. The plug may be provided with a lug 44 for engaging the walls of the slot 40. It will thus be seen in referring to Figure 2 that the lamp 25 is in electrical contact with the wires 45 which lead to the source of current.

The reflector 16 is provided with a plurality of oflset reflecting portions 46. The offset portions are arranged for providing a reflector substantially rectangular in cross section. The reflecting surface provided by. the hemispherical portion 24 reflects the.

downwardly and outwardly extending rays upon the rear portion of the reflector 16. These rays are in turn reflected outwardly and forwardly from the headlight substantially in the manner indicated by dotted lines in Figure 2.

The secondary reflector 21 is disposed in front of the lamp 25 and therefore provides a shield whereby the lamp is hidden from view when a person looks at the front end of the headlight. The rays of light projected forwardly from the lamp 25 are re-' flected back upon the reflector 16. The floor 7 is of non-reflecting properties. The lamp 25 is so positioned within the hemispherical formation 24 that no direct rays of light strike the floor 7.

In referring to Figure 4, it will be seen that the lamp 25 may be adjusted when the locking member 46 mounted upon the body portion 26 is loosened. The locking member 46 bears against a pressure ring 47 which engages the revolvable member 33. The faces of the pressure ring 47 bear against the curved faces of the revolvable member, whereby the members 34 compressing the revolvable memher are affected for rigidly supporting the tubular member 36. When the locking member 46 is loosened, the lamp may be moved to various positions by the swivel connection provided by the revolvable member. The lamp may also be adjusted longitudinally with respect to the longitudinal axis of the base portion of the lamp.

In Figure 2 I have shown an auxiliary lamp 48 disposed in a compartment 49 underneath the floor 7. One end of this compartment is provided with a colored glass 50. In practice, the headlight upon the drivers side of the vehicle may be provided with a red colored glass and the headlight upon the opposite side providedwith a green colored glass. This construction permits the driver of one car approaching another car to distinguish the respective sides of the approaching vehicle. In the event that one of the lights is out, the driver of an approaching car can easily determine which side the light is upon and thereby pass the vehicle in safety. The end of the headlight is provided with a glass plate 51 which is disposed in front of the reflector 16. The glass plate 51 and the plate 50 may be secured to a detachable frame 52. It will beseen that I have provided a headlight which is relatively simple in construction in that the reflector 16 may be formed from a single sheet of material. The floor 7 and the hemispherical portion 24, together with the secondary reflector 21, are also formed from a single sheet of material.

I claim:

1. A headlight comprising acasing having an open bottomed reflector disposed therein, said casing being provided with a hingedly mounted floor to cover the bottom of the reflector, said floor being formed to provide a depressed portion, the floor being cut to provide a secondary reflector arranged in operative relation with said depressed portion, a lamp disposed Within the depressed portion and behind said secondary reflector, and means for holding the floor in a normal position.

2. A headlight comprising a casing provided with a reflector having a plurality of integrally formed parabolic shaped reflecting surfaces, said reflector having an open bottom, a floor for closing said open bottom, said floor being provided with a depressed portion and a secondary reflector formed from a portion of the floor and disposed in operative relation with the depressed portion, and a lamp disposed within said dopressed portion and behind the secondary reflector. Y

3. A headlight comprising a casing provided-with a reflector having an open bottom, a floor for closing said open bottom and being hingedly mounted within the casing, said casing being provided with a compartment for permitting access to the lower side of the floor, said floor being provided with a depressed portion and a secondary reflector formed from a portion of the floor and disposed in operative relation with the depressed portion, a light disposed within the depressed portion and behind said'secondary reflector, guiding elements fixed upon the sides of the casing, and means carried by the floor and disposed within said compartment for cooperating with the guiding elements for holding the floor in its normal position.

Signed at Chicago, in the county of Cook, and State of Illinois this 27th day of July,

A. D. 1929. I

BURTON E. MELTON. 

